Durability problems of lining structures for Xiamen Xiang’an subsea tunnel in China

Durability problem of reinforced concrete for underground structures is a hot issue in the field of structural engineering.For underground structures,the prediction of structural service life and methodology for durability design are needed to estimate structural durability.Taking the case of Xiamen Xiang’an subsea tunnel as background,which is designed to meet the requirement of 100-year service life,the influential factors on tunnel lining durability are analyzed.Under the criteria of crack controlling and bearing capacity of lining structures,the theoretical service life of Xiamen Xiang’an subsea tunnel lining is studied.The regulations,which are needed for the diffusion capability of chloride ions in concrete by the relevant diffusion tests,are proposed.After a quick corrosion test,the bearing capacity test on eccentric short columns is implemented to investigate the variation rules in the bearing capacity of models with time.Influence of the corrosion degree of steel bars on the bearing capacity of models is also investigated.Based on the results of model tests,the acceleration ratio between the quick corrosion in laboratory test and the natural corrosion environments is established.Thus,the natural service life of subsea tunnel lining structures can be obtained by means of laboratory tests.Then,the proposed method using this modified model is employed to predict the service life of tunnel lining structures.Finally,the design and construction measures for improving the durability of lining structures of subsea tunnel are introduced.The proposed method in the present study based on a real engineering project is superior to those with only theoretical assumptions,and would be more suitable for similar projects.     

SAFETY ASSESSMENT OF UNDERGROUND TUNNEL SUBJECTED TO ADJACENT TUNNEL EXPLOSION

A numerical simulation method is proposed to evaluate the underground tunnel safety against explosion in adjacent tunnels. The dynamic constitutive relation used for rock material in the present study consists of a continuum damage model with the damage scalar depending on an equivalent tensile strain, a modified piecewise linear Drucker-Prager strength model allowing for the material strength degradation with damage, and a modified linear equation of state. The numerical model is calibrated by simulation of independent field explosion tests. Parametric study regarding the effect of the adjacent tunnel distance on the dynamic responses of underground tunnel is carried out. Failure zone around the explosion tunnel, and stress, strain and velocity on the adjacent tunnel wall are calculated. Safe separation distance between the adjacent tunnels is predicted and compared with empirical result.     

Mountain tunnel under earthquake force:A review of possible causes of damages and restoration methods

Accurate seismic assessment and proper aseismic design of underground structures require a comprehensive understanding of seismic performance and response of underground structures under earthquake force.In order to understand the seismic behavior of tunnels during an earthquake,a wide collection of case histories has been reviewed from the available literature with respect to damage classification,to discuss the possible causes of damage,such as earthquake parameters,structural form and geological conditions.In addition,a case of Tawarayama tunnel subjected to the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake is studied.Discussion on the possible influence factors aims at improving the performancebased aseismic design of tunnels.Finally,restoration design criterion and methods are presented taking Tawarayama tunnel as an example.     

Behavior of noncircular tunnels excavated in stratified rock masses – Case of underground coal mines

The amount of tunnels excavated along stratified/sedimentary rock masses in Quangninh coal mine area,Vietnam, is gradually increasing. Rock mass in Quangninh is characterized by beddings between rock layers. The behavior of stratified rock masses surrounding the tunnels depends on both the intact rock and the beddings between rock layers. The main characteristics of stratified rock masses that need to be considered are their heterogeneity and anisotropy. Depending on the dip angle of rock layers, movements and failure zones developed surrounding the tunnels can be asymmetrical over the vertical axis of tunnel. This asymmetry causes adverse behaviors of the tunnel structures. The objective of this study is to highlight convergences and yielded zones developed in rock masses surrounding noncircular tunnels in Quangninh coal mine area using a finite element method. The presence of bedding joints is explicitly simulated. The numerical results indicated that with the increase in dip angle of bedding joints, the stress asymmetry over the tunnel vertical axis increases. It gradually leads to an asymmetry of the failure zone surrounding the tunnel. An increase of rock mass quality means a decrease of rock mass sensitivity to the discontinuities. In addition,a dip angle of the bedding joints of approximately 45° could be considered as the critical angle at which the rock mass mechanism changes between sliding and bending.     

Performance characteristics of tunnel boring machine in basalt and pyroclastic rocks of Deccan traps–A case study

A12.24km long tunnel between Maroshi and Ruparel College is being excavated by tunnel boring machine(TBM)to improve the water supply system of Greater Mumbai,India.In this paper,attempt has been made to establish the relationship between various litho-units of Deccan traps,stability of tunnel and TBM performances during the construction of5.83km long tunnel between Maroshi and Vakola.The Maroshi–Vakola tunnel passes under the Mumbai Airport and crosses both runways with an overburden cover of around70m.The tunneling work was carried out without disturbance to the ground.The rock types encountered during excavation arefine compacted basalt,porphyritic basalt,amygdaloidal basalt pyroclastic rocks with layers of red boles and intertrappean beds consisting of various types of shales Relations between rock mass properties,physico-mechanical properties,TBM specifications and the cor responding TBM performance were established.A number of support systems installed in the tunne during excavation were also discussed.The aim of this paper is to establish,with appropriate accuracy the nature of subsurface rock mass condition and to study how it will react to or behave during under ground excavation by TBM.The experiences gained from this project will increase the ability to cope with unexpected ground conditions during tunneling using TBM.     

The Role of Architectural Considerations in Seismic Performance of Buildings： A Case Study in Iran

Experience from recent earthquakes such as Gilan, Zanjan, Bam and Lorestan earthquakes in Iran indicated that the constructed buildings are vulnerable against earthquake. Vulnerability of these structures is due to various reasons such as designing without considering seismic regulations, problems of regulations （design goals）, implementation problems, changing of the building occupancy class, increasing the weight of building stories, adding new stories to the building and changing in architecture of building without considering structural system. So the main objective of this research is to examine the features of building configuration and their effects as for the damages to buildings in past earthquakes. For this purpose, initially four occurred earthquakes in Iran are selected as case study. Then three types of buildings （steel structure, concrete structure and masonry buildings） are analyzed with details. Results showed that the most of damages are occurred in the old steel structures and masonry buildings which their ages are more than 25 years. The study showed that most of the buildings in the study area are steel structure and masonry buildings while concrete structures are infrequent which most of them had no or slight damages. Therefore, the importance and need to enhance the performance of available buildings against earthquake forces by rehabilitating methods would be more important than before. Also results indicated that the decisions related to architectural plan which have significant effect on seismic performance of buildings, can be divided into three categories： configuration of building, restrictive formal architectural plan and dangerous structural components, as these categories are not obstacle of each other, it is possible that each category has an influential effect on others. So organizing the design decisions in this way is very important so as to manage their effects and interdependencies.     

大型地下洞室地震灾变过程三维动力有限元模拟

 The earthquake impact is a major external factor influencing the long term stability of underground caverns. Time-history analysis method is able to simulate the earthquake response of surrounding rock in underground caverns during earthquake disaster process. It has been proved to be an effective method to analyze the aseismic issue of underground caverns. The numerical simulation system using three-dimensional dynamic finite element method is developed to study the earthquake disaster in underground caverns. Central difference method is employed in this system to solve the problem. To enhance the solving speed,parallel procedures and hybrid Gauss point integration method are proposed in programming. Strengthening features of materials under high strain rate and damage features of surrounding rock under cyclic loading are considered. The dynamic constitutive model for rock masses is presented. It is suitable for the aseismic analysis of underground caverns. Visco-elastic boundary is adopted in artificial boundary. The spatial oblique incident method which is suitable for the aseismic analysis of underground caverns is proposed. It is able to reflect the specific incident direction,the multi-incident surfaces and the inconsistency of seismic wave. An example is given to verify the correctness of the developed system by comparing its calculation results with common software?s calculation results. A case study is then conducted to simulate the earthquake disaster process of the cave-typed underground caverns at Lujichang hydropower plant. The results derived from time-history analysis indicate the reliability and practicability of the developed system.     

Numerical modeling of large deformation and nonlinear frictional contact of excavation boundary of deep soft rock tunnel

Roadways excavated in soft rocks at great depth are difficult to be maintained due to large deformation of surrounding rocks, which greatly influences the safety and efficiency of deep resources exploitation. During the excavation process of a deep soft rock tunnel, the rock wall may be compacted due to large deformation. In this paper, the technique to address this problem by a two-dimensional (2D) finite element software, large deformation engineering analyses software (LDEAS 1.0), is provided. By using the Lagrange multiplier method, the kinematic constraint of non-penetrating condition and static constraint of Coulomb friction are introduced to the governing equations in the form of incremental displacement. The numerical example demonstrates the efficiency of this technology. Deformations of a transportation tunnel in inclined soft rock strata at the depth of 1 000 m in Qishan coal mine and a tunnel excavated to three different depths are analyzed by two models, i.e. the additive decomposition model and polar decomposition model. It can be found that the deformation of the transportation tunnel is asymmetrical due to the inclination of rock strata. For extremely soft rock, large deformation can converge only for the additive decomposition model. The deformation of surrounding rocks increases with the increase in the tunnel depth for both models. At the same depth, the deformation calculated by the additive decomposition model is smaller than that by the polar decomposition model.     

Methodology for Definition of the Three-Dimensional Geodesic Structures in the Olinda＇s Historical Site

It is shown to be a relevant study involving terrestrial methods of measurement, such as： forward and backward intersections, geometric leveling, trigonometric leveling with short distance targeted and spatial positioning GNSS methods, for the definition of field reference points and field-object points located in rough terrain. The geodesic structures were implemented in the Historic Site of Olinda employing GNSS （global navigation satellite system） receivers, total stations and digital level. The historical site of Olinda was recorded by UNESCO as Historical and Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The study area is located in the center of the busiest site with a quite roughly relief. This area has been studied since 2007 involving Research of Scientific Initiation and Pos-Graduation Course. This paper aims to present the realized experiments for the implementation and definition of geodesic structures in environments with very rough relief, including large old houses and historic monuments.     

Preliminary engineering application of microseismic monitoring technique to rockburst prediction in tunneling of Jinping Ⅱ project

Monitoring and prediction of rockburst remain to be worldwide challenges in geotechnical engineering.In hydropower,transportation and other engineering fields in China,more deep,long and large tunnels have been under construction in recent years and underground caverns are more evidently featured by ＂long,large,deep and in group＂,which bring in many problems associated with rock mechanics problems at great depth,especially rockburst.Rockbursts lead to damages to not only underground structures and equipments but also personnel safety.It has been a major technical bottleneck in future deep underground engineering in China.In this paper,compared with earthquake prediction,the feasibility in principle of monitoring and prediction of rockbursts is discussed,considering the source zones,development cycle and scale.The authors think the feasibility of rockburst prediction can be understood in three aspects：（1） the heterogeneity of rock is the main reason for the existence of rockburst precursors;（2） deformation localization is the intrinsic cause of rockburst;and（3） the interaction between target rock mass and its surrounding rock mass is the external cause of rockburst.As an engineering practice,the application of microseismic monitoring techniques during tunnel construction of Jinping II Hydropower Station was reported.It is found that precursory microcracking exists prior to most rockbursts,which could be captured by the microseismic monitoring system.The stress concentration is evident near structural discontinuities（such as faults or joints）,which shall be the focus of rockburst monitoring.It is concluded that,by integrating the microseismic monitoring and the rock failure process simulation,the feasibility of rockburst prediction is expected to be enhanced.     

Influence of fabric anisotropy on seismic responses of foundations

Earthquakes,as one of the well-known natural disasters,are highly destructive and unpredictable.Foundation failure due to liquefaction induced by earthquakes can cause casualties as well as signi fi cant damage to the building itself.Fabric anisotropy of soil grains is considered to be an important factor in dynamic soil response based on previous researches and laboratory tests.However,the limited availability of real physical data makes it less persuasive.In this study,a shake table installed on a geotechnical centrifuge is used to provide the designed seismic motions,and therefore,to simulate the realistic earthquake motion to foundations.Important parameters in the responses such as acceleration,excess pore pressure and deformation are evaluated to investigate the in fl uence.Implications for design are also discussed.     

Acoustic emission monitoring of rockbursts during TBM-excavated headrace tunneling at Jinping Ⅱ hydropower station

To better understand the mechanical properties of marble at Jinping II hydropower station, this paper examines the changes of brittle rocks in excavation damaged zones(EDZs) before and after excavation of tunnel with the tunnel boring machine(TBM). The paper attempts to employ the acoustic emission(AE) to study the AE characteristics and distribution of rockburst before and after TBM-excavated tunnel. It is known that the headrace tunnel #2, excavated by the drill-and-blast(D&B) method, is ahead of the headrace tunnel #3 that is excavated by TBM method. The experimental sub-tunnel #2–1, about 2000 m in depth and 13 m in diameter, between the two tunnels is scheduled. In the experimental sub-tunnel #2–1, a large number of experimental boreholes are arranged, and AE sensors are installed within 10 m apart from the wall of the headrace tunnel #3. By tracking the microseismic signals in rocks, the location, frequency, quantity, scope and intensity of the microseismic signals are basically identifed. It is observed that the AE signals mainly occur within 5 m around the rock wall, basically lasting for one day before tunnel excavation and a week after excavation. Monitoring results indicate that the rockburst signals are closely related to rock stress adjustment. The rock structure has a rapid self-adjustment capacity before and after a certain period of time during tunneling. The variations of rock stresses would last for a long time before reaching a fnal steady state. Based on this, the site-specifc support parameters for the deep tunnels can be accordingly optimized.     

Seismic Behavor of RC Beam-Column Joint with Additional Bars under Cyclic Loading

The behavior of Beam-Column Joints in moment resisting frame structures are susceptible to damage caused by seismic effects due to poor performance of the joint.A good number of researches were carried out to understand the complex mechanism of RC joints which are considered in seismic design code practices presently adopted.The traditional construction detailing of transverse reinforcement have shown serious joint failure. This paper introduces a new design philosophy involving the use of additional dia...     

Grouting techniques for the unfavorable geological conditions ofXiang＇an subsea tunnel in China

One of the major challenges during subsea tunnel construction is to seal the potential water inflow. Thepaper presents a case study of Xiang＇an subsea tunnel in Xiamen, the first subsea tunnel in China. Duringits construction, different grades of weathered geomaterials were encountered, which was the challengingissue for this project. To deal with these unfavorable geological conditions, grouting was adoptedas an important measure for ground treatment. The grouting mechanism is first illustrated by introducinga typical grouting process. Then the site-specific grouting techniques employed in the Xiang＇ansubsea tunnel are elaborated. By using this ground reinforcement technique, the tunneling safety of theXiang＇an subsea tunnel was guaranteed.
2014 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting byElsevier B.V. All rights reserved.     

Conceptual Model for Collaborative Planning in Iran with Emphasis on the Role of Urban Planners： A Case Study of Anzali＇s Development Strategy

Nowadays, public participation is one of the most important factors to improve the feasibility, legitimacy and quality of urban plans. In Iran, due to lack of comprehensive understanding about the participation notion and its necessary socio-economic and political infrastructures, participatory decision-making has faced with some serious challenges in both processes of preparing and implementing. The present paper focuses on providing practical strategies for preparing collaborative urban plans in Iran＇s conditions. Also it seeks to answer this question： What is the role of planners to prepare a real collaborative plan？ It is assumed that a conceptual model for collaborative planning can be fitted with Iran＇s conditions by means of integrating the fundamental philosophic ideas of participatory planning such as theories of Paul Michel Foucault and Jürgen Habermas, given the fact that the present situation of collaborative planning in Iran needs a supportive theory which is compatible with power structures of Iranian urban planning system. In this regard, the Habermas＇ theory of “communicative action” and the Foucault＇s theory of “power structures” are reviewed by a comparative analysis methodology to present an integrated conceptual model for collaborative planning in Iran＇s condition. At the end, the CDS （City Development Strategy）---making process of Anzali City of Iran is analysed to examine this claim in the practice. The results yield that enabling urban planners to act as communication facilitators during planning can direct the collaborative planning in Iran from theory to a real practice by means of integrating the positive aspects of communication and power.     

Effect of the Chord-Brace Angle on the Strength of Rectangular Hollow Sections K- and N-Joints in Galvanized Structures

An important consideration when using hot-dip galvanized tubular structures is the uncertainty of the joint behaviour due to the possible reduction in the global joint resistance produced by the vent holes required for the galvanizing process. This paper assesses the effect on the joint strength of the angle between the brace members and the chord in a K- or N-joints made with rectangular hollow sections. The study is focused on the case when those brace members include characteristic holes required for the hot-dip galvanizing process. To accomplish the objective of the proposed work, some tests on full-scale K- and N-joints, including angles of 35°, 45°, 55° and 90°, were carried out. The experimental work was complemented by a validated numerical simulation in order to give some design recommendations and to extend the research to other joint configurations.     

Tall building configuration effects on their response to earthquake loading

This paper studies and analyzes the response and behavior of regular and irregular building structures in earthquake zones. The non-linear dynamic response of tall buildings structures were obtained using five simulated models, which were subjected to UBC code dynamic and static equivalent earthquake loads. The maximum response of the structural models were computed and analyzed in order to verify the effects of building configuration on drift results. Drift results agreed with codes recommendations regarding building configuration and showed that regular buildings performance in resisting earthquake forces is better than that of irregular buildings.     

A Primary Analysis of the Morphology Formation of the Market Towns in the Region of Rivers and Lakes to the South of the Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

The market towns in the region of riv-ers and lakes to the south of the lowerreaches of the Yangtze River in China havelong focussed people's attention upon theirunique formal structures.In this region ofrivers and lakes,its natural morphology is in     

Engineering rock mechanics practices in the underground powerhouse at Jinping Ⅰ hydropower station

Based on the analyses of data obtained from the underground powerhouse at Jinping Ⅰ hydropower station,a comprehensive review of engineering rock mechanics practice in the underground powerhouse is first conducted.The distribution of strata,lithology,and initial geo-stress,the excavation process and corresponding rock mass support measures,the deformation and failure characteristics of the surrounding rock mass,the stress characteristics of anchorage structures in the cavern complex,and numerical simulations of surrounding rock mass stability and anchor support performance are presented.The results indicate that the underground powerhouse of Jinping Ⅰ hydropower station is characterized by high to extremely high geo-stresses during rock excavation.Excessive surrounding rock mass deformation and high stress of anchorage structures,surrounding rock mass unloading damage,and local cracking failure of surrounding rock masses,etc.,are mainly caused by rock mass excavation.Deformations of surrounding rock masses and stresses in anchorage structures here are larger than those found elsewhere:20%of extensometers in the main powerhouse record more than 50 mm with the maximum at around 250 mm observed in the downstream sidewall of the transformer hall.There are about 25%of the anchor bolts having recorded stresses of more than 200 MPa.Jinping Ⅰ hydropower plant is the first to have an underground powerhouse construction conducted in host rocks under extremely high geo-stress conditions,with the ratio of rock mass strength to geo-stress of less than 2.0.The results can provide a reference to underground powerhouse construction in similar geological conditions.     

Seismic Design of ＂Qaf Murrizi＂ Tunnel： The Design of Tunnels in Heterogeneous Areas

Recently based in the performance of tunnels under seismic movements a good progress is made in the seismic design of tunnels. The majority of problems in the tunnel structures take place in near fault conditions and in the case of great variation of rock properties. Not having a previous experience in the seismic design of the tunnels that pass through tectonic zones with very large heterogeneity （strong rock-soil or very poor rock that behaves like soil） this article presents the general aspects of seismic calculation of tunnels and application in a specific example. The article presents the methods of seismic input modeling, design and particularities of numerical calculations. The geological conditions in which the case study tunnel will be constructed are very common in Albanian territory and represent one of the most difficult cases for the construction of road tunnels. The applied approach for using the longitudinal models for generating time histories of acceleration that can be used as input for transversal models is very simple and will help the designers for the seismic analysis of other tunnels that will be constructed in Albania.